Skip to content
 

There’s No Service Like Wire Service, Vol. 51

Screen shot 2009-12-29 at 10.06.03 AM.png

Time for another round of wire service photos. Most of these came from Bruce Menard, but Bob Gassel, Todd Radom, the Hungry Hungry Hipster, Brice Wallace, and Rick Friedel also contributed.

Here we go:

• Looks like one of these Orioles helmets had some sort of side-guard attachment. The player wearing No. 39 at that time was pitcher Eddie Watt. I’ve never seen a photo of him wearing a helmet with any kind of attachment or modification, but now we have something to look for!

• Speaking of helmet modifications, this hockey jaw-protection attachment made the wearer look like a Star Wars storm trooper. Also, look at his chin — that’s the Gerry Cosby logo!

• Here’s a shot of the Pirates unveiling their pillbox caps in January of 1976. Skipper Danny Murtaugh looked just thrilled to be there, eh?

• Here’s one of the best photos I’ve ever seen of the white umpire’s pants that were sometimes worn back in the 1920s, ’30s, and early ’40s.

• Speaking of MLB umps, here’s one of the funniest examples I’ve seen of what can happen when the umps lose their luggage.

• And here’s yet another new (to me) example of an ump who lost his luggage. That’s Paul Pryor umping behind Phillies catcher Bob Boone. So many great details in that photo — Pryor using resin bags as toe guards (!), Boone’s flapless helmet, and Boone’s white shoes (which dates the photo to 1975, the only season in which the Phils went white-shod).

• Here’s an odd one: Maury Wills playing banjo while in uniform prior to a game at Crosley Field.

• Before Reggie Jackson became known as Mr. October, his nickname was Buck, as can be seen inscribed on his batting glove.

• Not sure what’s going on here, but there was apparently a softball team that wore question marks on its jerseys and caps.

• If you’re the president, you get to throw out the first pitch at a big league ballgame. But if you’re the vice president, you’re left with a Nashville/Chattanooga minor league game.

• Never get tired of these executioner-style football helmets.

• This is pure gold: The Big Red Machine used to have a basketball team. Here’s how they looked in their warm-up outfits, which had NOBs.

• Here’s a great shot of the 1938 San Francisco Seals’ huge sleeve patch promoting the 1939 Golden Gate Expo. (Here’s a color close-up of the patch.)

• I think it’s safe to say that this shot suggesting that a football helmet could be safety-tested by having a man whack a woman with a baseball bat wouldn’t fly today.

• Hank Greenberg never played another MLB game after 1947. But he did suit up for the Indians for a spring exhibition game in 1948.

• I love this: One-armed outfielder Pete Gray was an inspiration for a one-armed kid.

• Here’s something I didn’t know: The House of David’s baseball team played against all-women’s teams. Ditto for their basketball squad.

• Did Satchel Paige have his own baseball team? He definitely had a jersey with his name across the chest.

+ + + + +

Good enough to steal: Crazy story yesterday out of the NHL, as Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo unveiled a new mask design that includes the “FP” logo shown at right.

Just one problem: That logo was part of a Panthers concept originally posted on Chris Creamer’s site way back in 2007 by a Creamer reader named Matt Kauzlarich, who says neither Luongo nor the mask painter asked for his permission. According to Creamer’s own report on this story, the mask painter says the logo “was sent to us and requested to be used in the mask design,” although it’s not clear if the logo design was supplied directly by Luongo, by one of Luongo’s representatives, or by the team.

For those of you who create and post concepts on various sites, including this one, this seems like a cautionary tale. As for Kauzlarich, I hope he’s compensated for his work now that his connection to the logo has come to light.

+ + + + +

ESPN reminder: In case you missed it yesterday afternoon, my latest ESPN column gives equal time to Indians fans who want to keep Chief Wahoo. I realize this ruins the narrative for those of you who think I only show one side of this story — sorry about that.

+ + + + +

’Skins Watch: Is an offensive logo more acceptable if it’s worn as a throwback? Chris Creamer explores that question here. ”¦ Disappointing move during last night’s Mets/Braves game, as the Mets’ SNY network ran a graphic featuring the Braves’ Indian head logo (screen shot by Brian Erni).

Baseball News: Back on Monday I wrote about how Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka was anchoring his pant cuffs to his cleats with the dreaded strap, which has been banned. For his next start, on Wednesday night, he was strap-free. … Speaking of the Yankees, in case you were under a rock last night, here’s a good shot of the pine tar, or “dirt,” or whatever it was, on Michael Pineda’s hand. ”¦ The Twins’ navy jersey with “Minnesota” on the chest is officially listed as their road alternate, but they wore it at home yesterday. … Two amazing Brooklyn Dodgers finds from Bruce Menard: an Ebbets Field vendor’s cap and Tex Rickards’s “Dodgers Announcer” sweater! … Here’s a new one: UNC-Wilmington has been wearing tequila sunrise jerseys with uni numbers just below the front collar. Never seen anything like that — and I can’t say I’m in any hurry to see it again, either (from Zane Tuck). … Oooh, look at the amazing William Penn patch that the Phillies wore in 1938 (thanks, Phil). … Mississippi State will be wearing these retro-styled alts against Ole Miss tomorrow. ”¦ We’ve all seen players flying the Hoover flag (i.e., with their back pocket turned inside-out), but it’s rare to see a pitcher doing that. That was the case last night, however, for Mets closer Jose Valverde. Someone must have said something to him about it, because the pocket was tucked back in after he faced his first batter (from Steve Dodell).

NFL News: Possibly the most unexpected place to see an NFL team logo: in the middle of a synthetic chemistry research paper (thanks, Mike). … Peter Kirschenbaum got to see an advance screening of the new movie Draft Day, which opens today, and reports that there are some logo inconsistencies in a scene that takes place in the Jags’ war room. “The logo and the wordmark on the TV screens are the current logo, but all the coffee mugs and phone screens show the old logo,” he says. “My guess is that they shot the scene before they knew of the updated logo. When the new one came out, they were able to change the bigger screens, but the finer details of the mugs couldn’t be updated.” ”¦ A school district in Alaska, of all places, is using Bucco Bruce as its logo. You have to scroll down a little to see it, but it’s there (from John Kimmerlein).

College Football News: FSU is due to unveil its new logo (which we’ve all seen already) and uniforms today. The new helmet will reportedly include an updated spear graphic, and here’s a shot of the logo being installed inside the stadium (thanks, Phil). … New midfield logo for Oklahoma’s spring game. … Mississippi State will mark the 100th anniversary of Scott Field by wearing this uniform on Aug. 30. And they really will have TNOB — that isn’t just for the photo shoot. Meanwhile, several people have asked me how they can get away with using “Hail State” (which they also used for one game last season) when Baylor’s “Sic ’Em Bears” got banned, and that’s a fair question. Gonna try to find out from the NCAA today.

Hockey News: Mmmm, chocolate Stanley Cups (from John Muir). ”¦ Also from John: The tops of Tim Thomas’s new pads blend in with his pants. … Frozen Four semifinals featured two color-on-color games: North Dakota vs. Minnesota and Boston College vs. Union (from Rob Liebhart).

Soccer News: New home kit for Liverpool. “Not a fan,” says Nile Smith. “The piping on the neck and shoulders doesn’t look good. Also odd that the lettering is white but the Liverbird Crest is Yellow. One neat little thing, though: ‘LFC’ is watermarked into the shirt.” ”¦ New kit for New Zealand (from Yusuke Toyoda). ”¦ Also from Yusuke: “Today is Football Shirt Friday in England, where fans wear soccer jerseys to work and raise money for the Bobby Moore Fund, named in honor of the former England captain who died from bowel cancer.” ”¦ New kits for Chelsea, Peñarol, Sampdoria, Palmeiras, Hammarby, and Slovenia (all of those from Trevor Williams).

Pro and College Basketball News: Did you know the Jazz’s warm-up shirts used to have plaid sleeves? Yikes! (Nice find by Bruce Menard.) … Good shot of WVU basketball’s late-1970s untucked jerseys with TNOB (from Brice Wallace).

Grab Bag: I find something hilarious about my supermarket referring to its mini-watermelons as “personal size.” … New logo set for Longwood University (from William Bishop). … The unwritten rules of sports media demand that someone must publish an article about the history of the green Masters jacket this week (from Joseph Anderson). … Some folks think the term “Boston Strong” has been overused and over-commercialized. … The House of David is famous for its baseball team, but apparently they also had a basketball squad, which had some killer warm-up threads (another nice auction find by Bruce Menard). … Hey, you know who wears camouflage besides sports teams? The military! So here’s a good article on military camo. … Good for Rutgers, which is requiring its apparel licensees to sign an anti-sweatshop agreement. … Here’s a nicely produced style guide for Wyoming athletics (big thanks to Bryan Stevens). … Governors State University in Illinois is conducting a vote on its first-ever mascot (from Ron Covert). … A company called Public Safety Advertising is promoting the use of advertising on fire trucks and ambulances. If that’s not a scandal, it should be. … A button-front shirt tucked into shorts?! Bjorn Borg, what were you thinking? (Blame Brinke.)

 
  
 
Comments (115)

    The number placement on the front of the Mississippi State alternate jersey seems random. “Just put it anywhere.” It would look a lot better without the number on it at all.

    “If you’re the president, you get to throw out the first pitch at a big league ballgame. But if you’re the vice president, you’re left with a Nashville/Chattanooga minor league game.”

    Wrong link for that one, the picture should be: link

    And not to nitpick, but my name is misspelled in “Baseball News”.

    Cheers!
    ~Bruce

    I’ve seen a different photo of that LBJ first pitch. It is the oldest documented instance that I’m aware of of a president or Vice President throwing a first pitch from the field and wearing team gear. I believe there are photos of Ike wearing a glove while throwing out a Nats first pitch from the stands, else LBJ’s wearing of a glove would also be of historic note. First I’ve seen of this particular photo of LBJ that day, though. Great to see an action shot!

    Here’s Ike with a glove throwing out the first pitch on 4/16/1953 at the Wash vs. NYY game. The guy in the bow tie behind Ike…might that be LBJ?

    I think you’re right, Bruce, about LBJ. The hat is good evidence. Btw, you gotta like Ike in that picture: excellent form.

    “Disappointing move during last night’s Mets/Braves game, as the Mets’ SNY network ran a graphic featuring the Braves’ Indian head logo (screen shot by Brian Erni).”

    What amuses me is that it was used to display “Offense This Season”. A fitting double entendre if there ever was one.

    That 1939 Golden Gate Expo logo is most excellent – huge – but excellent. A real Beauty.

    Quite a poke indeed! Which must explain why they allowed spectators to sit along the outfield wall. I am always amazed when I see old photos with spectators in the field of play.

    Don’t fret Paul we all know that your one attempt at being fair and balanced in the Wahoo/Redskins over the top PC battle you’ve waged in no way detracts from the liberal hipster way of life you champion. Now go listen to some obscure rockabilly to heal all the wounds you must of incurred by actually running that piece. Preferably in a vinyl format, you know since that’s “cool” and not what “the man” listens to.

    Hey, Paul, if you are gonna listen to some rockabilly, will you turn it up real loud so I can hear it to?
    Thanks!

    That Big Red Machine photo is one of the best things I have ever seen.
    How come Bench is wearing black Chuck Taylors when everyone else is wearing white? Someone needs to get to the bottom of this.

    I’m with you. I made a high-pitched squeal-noise that no man should ever make when I saw those pics. Why have I NEVER seen them before today?!

    A friend of mine pointed out that it looks like it was taken in the locker room because there appears to be a stall next to them.

    The uni-tidbit I noticed in yesterday’s Frozen Four: 3 of the teams had the Frozen Four patch on the front of the jersey, but North Dakota decided to put the patch on the sleeve, even though there was plenty of room on the left shoulder.

    Always interesting to see/document when baseball uniform patches include years/logos for “future” events… The Seals patch is a great example. Many ‘casual’ uni-watchers misidentify the 1938 NY baseball team patches promoting the NEXT year’s NY City World’s Fair (1939).

    I own a M&N 1938 home Lou Gehrig (non-polyester) jersey with the World’s Fair patch.. It confuses the masses!

    Yup. You bet. Reading Uni Watch and trying to leave the house at the same time. My apologies.

    From SABR: :In the first week of spring training in 1967, Watt suffered an eye hemorrhage and several broken facial bones when a ball struck him as he slid into third during a base-running drill. The prognosis was a six- to eight-week recovery when he finally went home after eight days in the hospital, unsure whether he’d be plagued by double vision or blurred version. Though sunlight continued to bother the eye, and exertion would occasionally lead to a nosebleed, Watt raced back and made his 1967 debut in the second week of the season. He insisted that his vision was okay, and if anybody doubted him, his 0.57 ERA in his first 14 appearances was reassuring.”

    He only had 59 PAs from 1967 to 1971, so it not surprising that many of us never noticed or remembered.

    Which explains why after batting .304 in his first season in the majors (1966), he batted only .080 thereafter (5-for-62).
    link

    During his time with the Orioles, Watt was the right-handed half of Earl Weaver’s bullpen closer platoon, with Pete Richert and then Grant Jackson forming the left-handed part of the tandem. With the quality starting pitching Weaver had to work with, though, Watt hardly ever was called on to pitch more than an inning, hence he rarely batted.

    Curiously, one of Watt’s bullpen mates, the ageless Dick Hall, started in the big leagues as a field player, and was called upon to pinch-hit occasionally throughout his career.

    Yeah, I was a Junior Oriole in those days…

    Was Maury Wills playing the National Anthem with his banjo? That would make sense as to why he was already in uniform. Either way, today’s blog post was awesome Paul. I love the old photos.

    Also, the entire article on Rutgers not allowing companies who run sweat shops to use their logo is a really good read. Good for them. I wish other schools/teams would follow their lead.

    I pulled up the full synthetic chemistry paper from the Journal of the American Chemical Society, but the Chargers logo is not used in the full paper, just the online abstract. Bummer.

    re: yesterday’s ESPN column with pro-Wahoo people

    It was refreshing how civil and reasonable they were about the issue. Unlike the trolls here and on Twitter, they didn’t see de-Chief as “desecrating” or as an anti-Indians thing. Just as de-Chiefers weren’t trying to preach or vilify people who sported the logo, these people recognized that it was fellow fans who had a different point of view.

    I thought the same thing as well. Then I thought, those types of people who hide behind the internet would NEVER be willing to go on a highly read website like ESPN, show their image, give their real name, and still spew the neanderthalic, line crossing options they usually do.

    If you want the trolls, read the comments after the ESPN piece. The ignorance and idiocy that’s on display in the comments section of most ESPN articles, REALLY makes me appreciate the thoughtfulness and respect that commenters put into their contributions on this site.

    when the article about Boston Strong starts off with:

    “Boston Strong is plastered on cars, cut into the grass at Fenway”

    and they haven’t cut it into the grass at Fenway this season, I have trouble accepting the direction of the article.

    The Maury Wills photo is less “odd” when you consider that one of his nicknames was “banjo”.He was known as a “banjo” hitter, ie, a light hitter, whose hits sounded like the plunking of a banjo. The question is whether he played the banjo before broadcasters (especially Pirates announcer Bob Prince) started calling him that. He even played Las Vegas once if I’m not mistaken. He obviously had fun playing with his nickname.

    The Cleveland Indians just posted a photo from the 90s of Kevin Costner in Full BP gear link

    and here is him recently in Tribe BP gear
    link

    The OU midfield logo looks a little weird, because while the whole shape of the state map is centered on the 50 yard line, the OU is centered in the 92% of the state that’s not the Panhandle. Granted, centering the OU on the 50 within the map would look even weirder.

    I think I would’ve made the OU larger, and overlaid it on the map at the 50. I think that wouldn’t look quite so awkward.

    First, I’ve never heard of the “Hoover Flag” before. Is there a story on that or an explanation. Whenever I played we and everyone else I knew called it a blinker or a turn signal.

    Second, is it possible for Adidas to make an uglier baseball shoe? Almost all of them look like soccer shoes and they way they are made is not conducive to pajama pants. They look better when paired with a nice blousing, but still remind me of a beer league softball player wearing the cleats he uses for indoor soccer.

    Never heard the phrase “Hoover flag” myself before today either, though I am familiar with the story of “Hooverville” shanty towns.

    I actually learned the term “Hoover flag” when first writing about MLBers turning their pockets inside-out years ago. I forget who brought the term to my attention, but it was someone here on this site!

    I believe it was I who introduced “Hoover Flag” to Uni Watch. I learned the term back in my high school history classes when we were learning about the Great Depression.

    Hooverville, Hoover Wagon, and Hoover Blanket were other terms we learned as well, but I didn’t realize “Hoover Flag” could be applied to baseball until one guy on our baseball team complimented another player on their “Hoover Flag” before a game.

    Appropriate use of the term “Hoover Flag” on a picture depicting a New York Mets player. You know, Wilpons and all.

    Instruments that I need to see in a pre-game national anthem:

    3. Ukelele
    2. Accordion
    1. link

    Also, the link needs to be played with live instruments and/or choir.

    The Champions League Anthem needs to be put to bed and given a dody. National anthems (before international fixtures of course, any other occasion is ridiculous) at least give the occasion a sense of atmosphere, getting the fans and players singing and generally cought up in the pagentry of the occasion. The Champions League Anthem just seems like a big excercise in brand synergy which isn’t helped by the fact that it gets played over those “The UEFA Champions League is brought to you by some Dutch piss, Vladimir Putin’s personal gas reserves and a *cough* American *cough* car” bits. I noticed the other night before the Bayern v. United Game that the fans just continued singing their own songs over the playing of the Anthem and I thought, “good for you.” Now maybe, just maybe a live band/choir would help but I still don’t see any reason why anybody should feel inclined to care about it.

    I have to admit, those Heineken commercials are precisely the reason I have a fondness for the Champions League anthem.

    I like that it’s gives a sense of specialness for a European night, and it’s preferable to the dueling national anthems especially when Arsenal, for example, would have a maximum of three English players in the starting XI.

    Well, they could play nothing like before most club games. Again, outside of international ties, national anthems are pointless, mostly for the reason you stated there.

    To me, it seems a bit like when you go to a movie and the cinema itself (or usually chain of cinemas) plays its own promo before the movie starts. It’s just branding, pure and simple and in the case of the Champions League, the stronger the brand identity the more attractive it is to advertisers.

    European nights are special anyway and they were special long before UEFA began playing their little ditty beofore games and long before they painted little stars on the balls.

    I’m not going to pretend to have a rational reason for liking the anthem. At this point, it’s a pavlovian response – I hear it, my heart starts racing and drool starts dripping.

    So long as it isn’t a blancmangean response – whereby you hear it, turn into a Scottsman and lose Wimbledon to a French desert based alien lifeform – then it’s probably not so bad.

    Roy Lee Jackson of the Blue Jays sang the anthem a few times – most notably ON THE ROAD in Texas in 1983. Commemorated on his Fleer card the next year.

    link

    We’ve seen a lot of odd poses on baseball cards over the years, that ranks up there.

    this is a question/comment for Paul, or really anyone in general. i was flipping through my latest Ebbets Field Catalog and noticed that they have a jersey and a cap for the Hartford Chiefs. being a connecticut resident, i look for items that represent my under-represented state in the sports world (Go Huskies).
    i thought if they ever made a Hartford Chiefs t-shirt, i’d probably snatch it up. would people find this offensive? they were an affiliate for the old Boston Braves, so the jersey has the tomahawk on it.
    personally, i can see why people do find this offensive, but i don’t look at it that way. it is a relic from the past. simply a name and logo from a baseball team, which is why i don’t mind Wahoo. when i was kid, i remember i had an Indians hat, and i loved it mainly because i loved cartoons, and i thought Wahoo looked cool. but then again, i’m a middle class white dude from Connecticut, so i’m not the best person to gauge how racist Wahoo is.
    i’m not a de-Chiefer, and i’m not pro-Wahoo. it is what it is, and if the Indians change their logo, its not like no other sports team hasn’t done that before. am i the only one who thinks like this? because it seems the debate is very heated.
    Also, is it me, or is “indians” such an antiquated term? when i think of indians, i think of people from India. Redskins, though…that shit is racist.

    Not Paul, obviously, but if it doesn’t bother you, then I don’t think you need anyone’s approval/non-offendedness to rock a gear.

    You’ve obviously given it some thought so you’re not oblivious to people’s concerns. But you’ve set a scale for the level of decency, and who can argue with that?

    I’m okay with the “Indians” name, less so with “Redskins” and the Wahoo logo and I have some reservations about “Chiefs” and the Braves imagery, but all I want is a little empathy and dialog, not for people to adapt my worldview.

    Also, some folks argue that “Indian” derives from “indigenous” (I think those people are wrong), but as long as Native Americans self-identify as “Indian”, I think it’s fine.

    “… I have some reservations about “Chiefs” and the Braves imagery”

    The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. –Mark Twain

    Just got around to reading yesterday’s “equal time” piece on ESPN. I wonder how much more receptive they (and other fans of like mind) would be of ditching Wahoo if the Indians came up with a more distinctive logo to replace it.

    Also, I found it somewhat odd that Jonathan related it to nostalgia for the relative success of the ’90s. He was probably born in ’94, and would have been 3 or so at the time of the team’s epic game 7 loss to the Marlins. Which raises a further question: to what extent is it possible to be nostalgic for something that we didn’t witness or don’t remember from first-hand experience?

    Yes, it is possible to be nostalgic for something we didn’t witness or don’t remember from first hand experience. Those memories are frequently passed down by family members, and if you are living in that area where the memories happened, that plays a big role as well. Those events are often recalled at those home sites, and the local media plays a role.

    This applies to best to the true diehard fan, however, one can be nostalgic about something which doesn’t relate to your own club. I have absolutely no connection with the old Washington Bullets, but since my hometown had no NBA franchise, I adopted them during the 70s.

    “… Here’s something I didn’t know: The House of David’s baseball team played against all-women’s teams. Ditto for their basketball squad…”

    Oh, my. Wonderful photos. All I need to read is “House of David” and I start smiling. Greatest of all the barnstormers.

    The Boston Strong article brings up an interesting thought, at least for me: How long is too long to use a rallying cry like “Boston Strong?”

    Eh, I think one day was too long – to me, the incident wasn’t about Boston. It was a tragic event that happened to be in Boston, and besides the not-insignificant inconvenience of a city-wide shutdown, didn’t affect most Bostonians in a tangible way.

    It wasn’t a storm that flattened the town or a blaze that decimated the fire department or an attack that destroyed a landmark/office building where thousands worked.

    I’m not going to set a benchmark for what qualifies as a “rally the city”-level tragedy, but at least to me, the marathon bombing, as horrific and visible as it was, wasn’t the sort of incident that threatened the viability of a city to the point it needed a rallying cry.

    Thanks for the Reds’ Basketball team photos. I remember seeing them play in Dayton, OH as a child. As soon as I saw the pictures, it reminded me that SOMEONE for the Reds was injured while playing for the basketball team. A little research and sure enough, Bobby Tolan tore an Achilles heel in a basketball game and Sparky Anderson said no more basketball for the Reds.

    link

    Thanks for posting that!

    I was trying to figure out what year this was. Obviously Rose & Bench wore their uniform numbers, but at that time Hal McRae wore #11 which threw me off.
    I assumed all the guys would wear the same number on the court as they did on the baseball field. Obviously not.

    “Is an offensive logo more acceptable if it’s worn as a throwback?”

    It’s beats revisionism like leaving the gun off the Colt .45s throwbacks (although I think they relented to history and thought better of it).

    Neither of those logos are offensive. The hockey jersey depicts an indian wielding a tomahawk. At one point indian warriors wielded tomahawks when they went into battle, just like vikings wore horned helmets. It’s not like that never happened.

    And there is nothing offensive about the logo the Mets broadcast team used, it’s not a caricature and he’s not redfaced. He’s smiling or chanting. And who are you to say it’s disappointing? Disappointing to who? Not to most people.

    And who are you to say it’s disappointing?

    I’m the guy who was disappointed, and I’m the guy who was writing that sentence.

    Glad we cleared that up.

    But that’s kind of extreme if chief noc offends you. It’s not a goofy cartoon caricature. Plus chief noc was actually portrayed by a native american when he was the braves mascot (and he left because of a financial dispute, not because anybody was offended).

    I mean this is almost like the mohammad cartoon controversy now. Are any drawings of indians acceptable? Even a respectful one where he happens to be chanting (which indians do)

    get rid of the mohawk and feather and he’s essentially Mr. Clean. this is not something that should offend unless you’re very nit picky

    But I never said it offended me.

    If you’re familiar with my work in this area, then you should know that my beef is that it’s wrong to take someone else’s cultural imagery — that’s why it’s disappointing to see the Braves using that logo, and to see SNY posting it on TV.

    We’ve been thru this shit a million times. Let’s please move on. Thanks.

    Thank you for another edition of “There’s no service . . . ”
    I’d love to see more of that, and less of, you know what.

    Paul, can you please clear “this shit” up once and for all too?:

    *I* find these team names offensive, and so do many others, because it the very notion of it demeans *all* of us (just as slavery demeaned all of us, just as Japanese internment demeaned all of us, etc.). It’s part of the social contract: We’re all in this together.” Paul Lukas, 23 March 2012

    I love the site and your work, but when you are the troll, *I’m* disappointed.

    At what point do we change something just because a very small minority is “offended”?

    Perhaps you should ask the Braves that question, since they scrapped the Indian head BP cap after a fairly large (not very small) outcry two winters ago.

    While I agree that there shouldn’t be anything offensive about depicting a Native with a tomahawk when historic Natives did in fact use tomahawks, I feel I must point out that Vikings didn’t actually wear horned helmets. That’s a modern creation.

    I think that ignores a huge chunk of the cultural context. Sure, it’s a (relatively) positive depiction of Indians, but it still plays to the very limiting, traditional portrayal as (at best) noble warriors who were good at killing and stuff.

    The Vikings are a good counterexample – it’s an expression of cultural pride by the predominant group in Minnesota, the Scandinavians. If they choose a misdrawn viking as their symbol, that’s their prerogative. It’s not like there’s a lack of Scandinavian reference points in Minnesota and the rest of the Upper Midwest.

    The same can’t be said for Indian imagery, and in my opinion (and “my” being the operative word here), the warrior imagery is limiting and dehumanizing. It’s a varied, diverse culture reduced to a single adjective.

    Most sports mascots are rather one dimensional though. Sports teams tend to go with imagery that invokes strength and power, so they focus on the “warrior” aspect of Native American culture. Even the animal teams are usually predators. The Vikings were also really good engineers and explorers, considering they built ships that managed to cross an ocean 500 years before Columbus, but those things don’t usually lend themselves very well to sports logos. I just don’t see it as a reason to be offended.

    Honestly, I’d really like to see some Native American designed logos presented as replacement proposals for Chief Wahoo and the other Native-themed teams. Instead of just complaining about how they’re portrayed, why not actually show us ignorant white people how they want to be represented?

    Most sports mascots are rather one dimensional though.

    Which is exactly why the Vikings work better [insert Indian-themed nickname here]. Scandinavia is so well represented in the region that the helmet logo isn’t the only nordic thing most people will see. You can afford to be one-dimensional with a sports logo.

    But with Indians, sports logo is the most complimentary images most people will see.

    …why not actually show us ignorant white people how they want to be represented?

    “So see here, *this* is how we want you to co-opt our culture and heritage…”

    This is the thing, the actual tone – good, bad or otherwise – is rather moot. The point is that so long as the power of representation lies with those who are not Native American there will always be a problem. The difference therefore between this issue and representations of Scandinavians via Vikings or representations of the Irish via Leprechauns is that both the Irish and Scandinavians have sufficient agency that those depictions will always be parenthetical to the more culturally significant identities they have been able to construct.

    Native Americans, largely as a result of a couple of centuries of sustained marginalisation and attacks on their legitimacy, have never acquired the degree of cultural power and agency necessary to self-define and hence relegate such stereotypes to the level of quaint and harmless peculiarity.

    I have a feeling the Satchell Paige jersey is from his barnstorming tour, i think he did a lot of tours with Dizzy Dean, there’s a good book about the two of them.

    I saw Satchel Paige with a barnstorming team pitch against a semi-pro team in Emerson, NJ in the late sixties. I stood about 10 feet from him while he warmed up. He threw 2 change ups that were hit for homers in about 7 innings. Those 2 pitchers were the only time a very talented semi-pro team came close to hitting him. A incredible night. Carl Hubbell was in the stands as he often was for those games.

    Given the sordid history of so many recent Illinois governors, it’s disappointing that the choices for Governors State University mascot don’t include something like Jailbirds, Grifters, Unindicted Co-Conspirators, etc.

    I do agree that both sides have been respectful, which is what is needed in a good discussion/debate (and what we often do not see). I also thought it a good point brought out that if one wanted to remove the “wahoo” head from one’s jersey or cap, why spend the money (thus supporting it through the purchase) and then ruining the look? Very good point.

    I don’t care much for the Indians “block-C” look at all; reminds me of the block C they used from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. That was a very bland uniform combination as well. I did/do like the stylized font used from the early-to-mid 1970s, which included the red, navy, and white jerseys (as well as the stylized “C” on the caps). Wahoo was worn on the caps in the 1950s, peeking out from behind a wishbone style C. The Indians have worn the wishbone C on and off for many years, the last time in 1972 with red caps/helmets. That may be a better look to go back to for the caps.

    Regarding the whole Washington Redskins debate, is the debate more centered on the name “Redskins” or on any type of American Indian (or Native American, if you will) imagery or name? For instance, if the Redskins replaced the nickname “Redskins” with a different name and kept the same logo/image, would that be acceptable to those that are against the name? Would they find a nickname like Washington “Warpath” more acceptable, or any type of name with this connotation be viewed offensive?

    I also thought it a good point brought out that if one wanted to remove the “wahoo” head from one’s jersey or cap, why spend the money (thus supporting it through the purchase) and then ruining the look?

    Two things:

    1) If you read the last week’s column, then you know that nobody bought this gear with the intention to de-Chief it. In each case, they had the gear for a while (in one case it was a gift) and decided they were no longer comfortable wearing the logo, so then they de-Chiefed it.

    2) Even if they did buy it with the specific intention of removing the logo, what’s wrong with that? Good way to make a statement.

    “…in case you were under a rock last night…”

    Or, y’know, maybe some of us had link that didn’t involve sitting home watching sports highlights.

    I was out last night myself, Jimbo. But I was under the impression that the Pineda pine tar thing was blowing up all over the place. So I included the “under a rock” thing as a way of acknowledging that I was about to say something that I assumed most people already knew.

    But maybe I was wrong about that.

    Re: the awesome hockey helmet with the jaw protector (which really is awesome):

    Not to be “That Guy”, but…in the context of the Imperial Military’s infantry units, “stormtrooper” is one word. Not hatin’, just educatin’.

    /nerd

    Am I missing something or did the 49ers just create a new helmet for the Oregon Ducks…

    link

    As far as I am aware the Mallard Green Helmet only has silver or metallic green wings in the past.

    Yesterday, I was at a local discount store (I live in Phoenix) and I saw something that was very disturbing. I didn’t have time to get a picture, but I’ll describe it.
    My only thought was that a tragic event was being exploited for financial gain (kind of like the Boston Strong).

    It was a Diamondbacks shirtsey that had YARNELL as the NOB and the number 19. Anyone here in AZ knows that is to represent the 19 firefighters who perished in the wildfire last summer in Yarnell, AZ.

    I didn’t know that there were shirts made to commemorate this event, and even worse, since they were sold at a discount store (Marshalls), I doubt a penny of the proceeds would have gone to the victims’ families.
    I was disgusted that the Diamondbacks, MLB, and Majestic would even produce a shirt like this.

    Thoughts?

    Lots of comments from ‘The U’ players’ Twitter account today about the unveiling of the new uniforms can be found here: canespace.typepad.com/canespace/2014/04/um-spring-game-set-for-saturday.html#comments

    The official release is tomorrow at UNite14, the spring game!

    “Not sure what’s going on here, but there was apparently a softball team that wore question marks on its jerseys and caps.”

    link

    “We’ve been thru this shit a million times. Let’s please move on. Thanks.”

    Yet, you keep mentioning it on your site.

    I keep mentioning developments as they happen. It’s a developing story.

    But the same silly talking points, apples/oranges comparisons, and straw man arguments (“How is it any different than Notre Dame?” and “If three people are ‘offended,’ do we have to change it?”, etc.) get tiresome.

    Hope you’re still reading the comments, Paul. I have to call you on this one: “And here’s yet another new (to me) example of an ump who lost his luggage. That’s Paul Pryor umping behind Phillies catcher Bob Boone. So many great details in that photo – Pryor using resin bags as toe guards (!), Boone’s flapless helmet, and Boone’s white shoes (which dates the photo to 1975, the only season in which the Phils went white-shod).”

    Dude, that same picture was highlighted in YOUR OWN BLOG less than 10 days ago. Maybe it was posted by one of your subs, but it’s really incumbent upon you to read your own blog everyday.

    This is not the first time an item has been posted repeatedly in within a matter of days.

    Tim Thomas better make sure closing his 5-hole is his strongest aspect bc that’s all the shooter will be thinking about with those pads. Pretty clever if he can make it work.

    Unless I missed a comment, it appears no one caught the oddities in the Reggie Jackson photo.

    Denny McClain played with Oakland for the first part of 1972; this photo is from that spring training, March 8, and a few things stand out:

    The A’s haven’t switched to their sansabelt uniforms worn during the 1972 season, yet.

    Reggie is wearing a vest the A’s wore for the last time during regular season in 1971.

    Denny McClain is wearing a vest from 1968.

    The Baylor “Sic ‘Em Bears” Basketball uniforms not being allowed is a different scenario than the MSU “Hail State” Football unfiorms.

    I imagine (I haven’t scoured the rules to confirm this) that the rules for the text on the front of a basketball uniform are different from the rules for football uniforms. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have no specific rules regarding text on a football uniform.

    One sport requires text or some sort of identifying feature, the other has text/logos being completely optional.

    Also: NCAA tournament = NCAA-run event, regular season game = NCAA Sanctioned, but not run by them. It’s why Baylor could have worn those jerseys in the regular season as long as the other team and officials approved them before the game.

Comments are closed.